Hitman: Blood Money

IO Interactive's presentation is better than ever, but has the core game changed at all?

IO Interactive made its mark on the videogame world with the first Hitman game in 2000 and planted a flag with Freedom Fighters in 2003. The world, especially Europe, loved Hitman, and rightly so. IO has designed a stealth game that, while suffering from some easy-to-notice flaws here and there, boasts some of the most distinguished and well-honed level design in any game of its kind. Perhaps equally important, IO gave birth to a long-lasting, brooding iconic antihero with Agent 47.

With the third game in the series, Hitman: Contracts, IO hit a lull, as the team was simultaneously working on Blood Money and creating the newly fangled engine on which this new game was built. Contracts looked good enough and explored a dark, devious theme that hadn't been done before, but it played like all the others. This fourth game does several things to improve the series, both from a presentation and a playability perspective.

The screen splits to show off important actions.

The results are solid -- the new notoriety system functions smartly, the upgraded currency system encourages players to be pennywise, and the text-sensitive controls and up-close fighting systems make this often very un-accessible stealth game more forgiving. The newly added features don't, however, alter the fundamental experience much beyond Contracts. So while fans of the series will notice all the new features in subtle ways, the gameplay is essentially like playing any of the previous games in the series. In other words, IO built a lot of good features around the core play, which was tinkered with and enhanced a little, but it basically left the 47's fundamental game alone. What we're left with is a good, familiar game of Hitman. It's more accessible, looks better -- significantly so on Xbox 360 and PC, anyway -- and is worth your hard earned money if you're a patient and obsessive stealth gamer.

IO's new game is an endeavor based on many little things that work comprehensively. The story is more intriguing, because it finds Agent 47, the ultimate assassin clone, being hunted down by a rival organization and hitman, while following a narrative that traces Agent 47's work via a reporter and an inside man bent on tracking him down. You'll want to see all the cutscenes since they reveal crucial information on yours truly, and they exhaustively -- and in a real-world manner -- explore the political and global issues around cloning. The CG dialog is refreshing and intelligent and doesn't just paint a nice pastiche. Similarly, the series has always relied on CG cutscenes, which have looked drastically different than the actual gameplay up until now. IO's rebuilt game engine features better lighting techniques and character models and the work shows up well on all systems, especially the PC and Xbox 360 versions, which appear unhindered by technical limitations.

The most dramatic changes in Blood Money, however, don't revolve around the story, but Hitman's actions and the systems around those actions. First, the training level is up-to-date. The first level is essentially a training level, which narrates your actions through a real-world level. Many other games have done this before, and now Hitman does it and does it well. The next things you'll notice are contact-sensitive controls, more kinds of control, and added Agent 47 nimbleness. Using a three-button system appearing on-screen, you'll find that doorknobs, items, secret stashes in drawers, and guns all are contact-sensitive. Run by an object that's useable and the right button is lit in the corner of your screen. This technique is done well and thankfully it makes controlling Hitman a little more natural without being too obvious. The only area that's a little wonky is climbing out windows (it's a little sticky and can be confusing in a quick situation).

The additional accessibility from better controls works on different levels. There are always situations in which Agent 47 must do things in a hurry. The more accessible control system makes performing simple acts -- like opening a door or picking up a briefcase -- less painful. The game still fundamentally functions like it did before, but the smarter interface works more intuitively most of the time. Opening a garbage can or a garbage truck, for instance, to dispose of an unclothed dead man, is not only new to Blood Money, but it's an action that can be handled relatively quickly and efficiently. Believe it or not, throwing a coin was one of the harder things we had to figure out, as was handling multiple items simultaneously. It's all do-able, of course, and this Hitman makes these simple things easier to do. But IO hasn't abandoned its former self, so if you've played Hitman before, you'll instantly feel comfortable with this. If you have never handled Hitman before, you might take a chance with this one.

IO worked on a lot of systems that revolve around your actions to tie the game into a more cohesive whole. Weapons carry over from one level to the next now, but they have a series of upgrades, some with as many as 11-12 different kinds. They range from bigger, more powerful bullets that can blast through doors (which is new), to silenced modifications to bridges and expanded clips. You'll handle rifles, sniper rifles (the Dragunov), handguns (SilverBallers), automatic rifles, shotguns, and more. The weapons function exactly like they did in the past, by pressing and holding a button to check inventory and by pressing the same button to unholster or holster a weapon.